Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter. Black Disabled Lives Matter. Black Makers Matter.

I’ve spent so much time on Instagram lately I neglected to make my position on this blog clear, and for that I am sorry. It is imperative as a white person that I commit myself to anti-racism work, and that means following and highlighting the work of Black people in this field (while not pretending to be an expert myself).

I have a responsibility to make this space safe for all Black folx, for POC, for Indigenous, Native, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander & Blak folx, of all abilities, disabilities, sexualities and gender identities (so that means if you’re a TERF, you can fuck right off, because Black trans lives matter and an attack on trans people is an attack on Black trans people who much more at risk of having violence perpetrated against them).

 

I’d like to share a fabulous Instagram account created in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

It’s called Black Makers Matter. Black Makers Matter (@blkmakersmatter, #blkmakersmatter) are “a coalition of black makers united to bring about and implement cultural transformation in the sewing and crafting industry.” They have begun a boycott of Hobby Lobby, Michael’s and Joann fabric and craft stores in the US. (Seen in video and text format in the posts below.)

View this post on Instagram

For generations the power of the black dollar has been taken for granted. This boycott is a way to use our money to affect lasting change, in transparency of leadership, influencers and ambassadors as well as how companies interact with our community. It is very important that we see companies make sustainable and impactful plans and not one time or menial gestures meant to only pacify. We will not be silenced. We expect to see these companies, who we have spent our money with, do better! . **Please follow the link in our Bio ( linktree) to access the list of “ Safe to Shop “ Vendors ! ** . #blkmakersmatter #getready #makerscommunity

A post shared by @ blkmakersmatter on Jun 19, 2020 at 11:27am PDT

View this post on Instagram

For generations the power of the black dollar has been taken for granted. This boycott is a way to use our money to affect lasting change, in transparency of leadership, influencers and ambassadors as well as how companies interact with our community. It is very important that we see companies make sustainable and impactful plans and not one time or menial gestures meant to only pacify. We will not be silenced. We expect to see these companies, who we have spent our money with, do better! @blkmakersmatter #blkmakersmatter

A post shared by ✂️ 𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓪 𝓫𝓾𝓷𝓴𝓮𝓻 | DIY Style!✂️ (@ericabunker) on Jun 19, 2020 at 11:58am PDT

Jacinta Green (@pinkmimosabyjacinta) has created a comprehensive list of Minority & Ally Owned Vendors, called “Shut Up and Sew”. You can read more about her process on her Sewcialists blog, “Spending Your Money Where it Counts”. Some Australian or internationally accessible e-commerce stores are on that list. (As Jacinta writes in the comments, she spent 20+ hours collaborating with the sewing community on that list, so if you feel inclined to criticise, pull your head in.)

 

Finally, I’d like to say that if you are Disabled or consider yourself an ally, and wish to fight ableism, you cannot do so without also fighting racism. Ableism is the child of racism and Black Disabled people are disproportionately targeted by police. The case in similar in Australia, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Disabled people overrepresented in prison and more likely to be abused there. Our battles are intertwined.